The Nissan Tiida is the number one vehicle targeted by car thieves and the police is urging owners to install anti-theft devices to make it easier to recover.
Speaking at yesterday’s weekly media briefing of the Police Service, Sgt Christopher Swamber, of the Stolen Vehicles Squad, disclosed that for the first three months of the year 211 cars have been stolen and only 61 have been recovered. Swamber said the Nissan Tiida, particularly those white and silver grey, were easy to blend in on the roads.
Also at the briefing was public information officer ASP Michael Pierre who said for the year 39 Nissan Tiidas were stolen compared to 48 last year and overall 211 cars were stolen so far this year while 200 were stolen for the same period last year.
Statistics from the Crime and Problem Analysis Branch of the Police Service reveal that for the period January 1 to March 31 there has been a total of 163 cars were stolen as compared to 178 for the corresponding period 2015. The figures also reveal that for the same period 48 motorists were victims of car jacking as opposed to 22 for the corresponding period last year.
Swamber said the police believed the car-stealing ring comprised criminal deportees who have perfected the art of stealing vehicles in under five minutes and locating the global position system (GPS) devices and other car-theft devices and dismantling them. An official of the stolen vehicle recovery provider, CarSearch, said the majority of cars stolen were Nissan models followed by Toyota and Ford brands.
The official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said for the past two years the majority of the vehicles stolen were along the East/West Corridor and they have also recovered most of the vehicles in that area. Second to the East/West Corridor is the Port-of-Spain Division for stolen cars, the information provided showed.
Swamber said the Nissan Tiida is considered a “poor man’s vehicle” and as such it is targeted for both resale and spare parts. He added that the car-stealing ring in the country was a multi-million dollar business and it was difficult to infiltrate.
The men added that drivers should be careful of where they parked and get anti theft devices and GPS tracking in the event the car was stolen, making it easier for the vehicle to be retrieved.
Swamber said some car parts outlets, referred to as “chop shops”, that sell parts of stolen vehicles operated as legitimate businesses and therefore advised car owners to place marking on their vehicles that they alone would be able to identify, making it easier for police to charge the businessmen.
Both Swamber and Pierre advised garage owners as well to be cautious of people bringing vehicles for repairs and suggested that garage owners got proper identification from customers and if they refused, that should be an automatic red light.
Swamber said often the stolen car’s chasis numbers are changed and registered as a new vehicle and put back on the roads. He advised car rental agencies to take photographs of customers.